One More Chance
by Silver Butterfly 111
Summary: Ladybug turned to her partner and she hated to see the hope that was in his eyes. Hated to see that he had faith that a miracle would bring someone back from the dead. She hated having to crush that hope even as the words came out of her mouth. "Marinette Dupain-Cheng is dead Chat." (Rated for mention of character death)
1. Chapter 1

Ladybug sat on the rooftop and stared across the street at the little bakery. She could almost hear Tom and Sabine crying.

Or at least she imagined them crying.

The upstairs lights weren't on.

The bakery was closed. Had been closed for three days.

She felt a twist in her gut a nearly overwhelming sense of longing that almost manifested into a physical pain but she refused to cry.

Refused to go into that place and comfort her parents.

They weren't her parents anymore

They were Marinette's parents and Marinette was dead.

She stayed where she was; perched on the roof, keeping her silent vigil

"Where were you?" She turned, startled by the voice to see Chat Noir crouching beside her, his glowing green eyes fixed on the bakery across the street. He'd been so quiet that she honestly forgot he was there.

Ladybug said nothing as she turned to fix her eyes on the bakery again.

"Another one of your top secret solo missions?" Chat pressed.

She said nothing.

"You should have been there, you could have saved Marinette."

She almost flinched at the bitterness in his tone but she bit her tongue against the response that wanted to spill out of her mouth.

 _I couldn't have saved Marinette because I am Marinette and there wasn't time to transform. I couldn't save myself Chat!_

No she couldn't say that to him not now; he would accuse her of lying, of making some sort of joke at the expense of a girl who was supposed to be dead.

So instead she replied, voice flat nearly monotone.

"I can't save everyone Chat. I see that now."

"You could have _tried_!"

This time she did flinch. "I'm sorry." She said, voice dropping to a whisper at the inadequate apology.

"Me too."

She lowered her gaze to the roof tiles pressing her palms into them so hard she could feel the scrape of the rough surface against her skin even through the material of her superhero suit. She expected him to leave.

His next words sent another twist to her chest.

"If I had a one more chance I would have saved her. What would you do if you were given a second chance?"

She resisted the urge to brush her fingers against her earrings or touch the patch of skin where the scar rested over her heart.

A heart that had stopped beating.

She was supposed to be dead.

 _I have been given one more chance._ She thought. She let Chat Noir's question go unanswered because it wasn't as simple a question as he thought it was. The answer would require an explanation, one that was safer not said. She instead asked one of her own questions, eyes still locked on the bakery; her home. A home she couldn't go back to.

"Why do you insist we come back here every night?" _Why must you insist on reminding me of the life I've lost?_

She saw him turn to her, looking angry and betrayed. "Because- because this is the first place she'll come back to if she's alive."

Ladybug turned to her partner and she hated to see the hope that was in his eyes. Hated to see that he had faith that a miracle would bring someone back from the dead. She hated having to crush that hope even as the words came out of her mouth, Newspaper headlines flashing before her eyes.

 _Breaking News: Teenage girl; Marinette Dupain-Cheng murdered this afternoon. Eyewitnesses report that the girl was attacked by a man armed with a gun The body is currently in the pocession of the authorities and the murder is has yet to be found._

… _._

" _Breaking News: Ladybug MIA at most recent Akuma fight? Chat Noir claims to not know the whereabouts of his crime fighting partner._

 _..._

 _Breaking News: Marinette Dupain-Cheng's body reported missing from morgue; assumed stolen._

 _Breaking News: Ladybug reappears after mysterious absence. Refused to comment on where she had disappeared to._

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng is dead Chat. That girl is dead and you know it!" Her voice cracked; it was so bizarre to refer to herself in the past tense. It had an odd detaching effect; as if she honestly was talking about someone else.

Chat sighed. "I know-" he paused regarding her with a look in his eyes that didn't fit him. Grief and pain and sorrow. He turned his eyes back towards the bakery so that she wouldn't see.

"You know, I had started to entertain this idea in my head that you and Marinette were the same person…."

Her heart nearly gave out.

"I guess I was wrong though because... she's gone like you said and you're here," he gestured to her "and you couldn't have been the same person because people don't come back from the dead."

 _But…. I did, I have._

"No, they don't." She agreed. Turning away from him and staring at the distant horizon.

Chat made no reply and when she turned her eyes back to look at him, to explain that she was Marinette and she had cheated death... she realized that he'd left without saying goodbye.

Which was probably for the best.

She let out a nearly inaudible sigh and turned her back on her home.

She hadn't lied to Chat.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng was dead.

And it was best she remained that way.

Ladybug was back.

She had been given a second chance.

And she knew _exactly_ what she was going to do with it.

She was going to kill the man responsible for her death.

Hawkmoth.

* * *

 **Prompt from: mlstoryprompts on Tumblr: Marinette is killed in front of witnesses, unknowing to her friends and family her Miraculous brings her back.**

 **(So what do you think? Should I write more of this?)**


	2. Grief

**The public has spoken! You shall receive!**

* * *

The Kwami lay curled on the floor of the room. Listening. Nothing moved, his master was away for once leaving the creature to his solace.

So he laid there curled in on himself as he listened to the soft flutter of butterfly wings, whispering to him trying to comfort him.

He listened and he heard them.

The little white butterflies were his creations and so he could hear them.

And now he could hear them mourn.

His creations were mourning.

Silently weeping over what their master had done.

And so Nooroo mourned with them

Curled on the floor filled with butterflies the Kwami lay trapped in a state of deep meditation he did not move he did not breathe he only listened and felt.

His ability to grant others the things they most desired granted him the ability to become extremely attuned to the emotions of mortals.

This ability to sense emotions was strongest with the other Kwami. Second was his master and by extent anyone his master had touched whilst bestowing powers.

And in the aftermath of the most recent events Nooroo could sense only greif.

Never had his master been so desperate. Never had a villain created by the power of the butterfly ever killed.

Harmed and manipulated yes, but killed?

His master had been desperate, desperation coupled with frustration made a dangerous emotional combination and Nooroo's attempt to be the voice of reason had only served to fan the flames of his master's anger.

And when his master called for the transformation and Nooroo became fully aware of the extent of his master's fury.

He had become terrified but with the transformation in place he could do nothing to stop his master's actions directly.

So instead he had reached his mind out towards the other Kwamis specifically Tikki; trying to warn her of the coming threat.

 _Don't transform. You can't let your Chosen transform. It's too dangerous._

It had taken only a split second to telepathically communicate the warning

A split second in which he had been distracted and Hawkmoth had sensed that distraction.

Panicked Nooroo had managed to block out Tikki's reply to his warning.

He hadn't managed to hide away the mental picture of Marinette that had come with Tikki's words.

Hawkmoth saw that much.

He'd seen Marinette.

He wanted to get to Ladybug and Nooroo had given him a picture of a girl. He had a target, a victim and he knew this girl was connected to Ladybug even if he didn't know _exactly_ how the two were connected.

He didn't care.

What mattered is that he had a target.

And it was then; as dread settled over the Kwami that Nooroo realized his warning had come too late.

The instant the bullet hit he felt grief.

First it was Tikki's as she watched her Chosen die.

Her telepathic scream reverberating in Nooroo's mind with enough force and power to shatter an entire world.

Then it was Plagg's, the cat Kwami having sensed Tikki's emotions better than perhaps even Nooroo was capable of, do to the fact that Plagg was her counterpart. Her opposite, her equal.

Then the rest of Kwami became aware of the tragic blow that had been struck against them.

All of their grief culminated into a single mass of shared emotion and hit Nooroo in a monstrous tidal wave; the emotional backlash funneled into him, the shock and strength of it was enough to paralyze him and he was forced to release his master's transformation.

He fell out of the broach. Tumbling towards the floor where he stayed unable to do anything as he tried to buffer himself against the violent turmoil of emotion.

For three days

The little purple butterfly sat up with a jolt as another emotion cut through his mind bright and hot and swift as fire; something besides grief that severed as a catalyst to break him out of his nearly dormant stasias.

His wings gave a twitch and his white butterflies fluttered in response to the small movement, swirling around him in a whirlwind.

He turned his eyes up to the massive window, mind stretching out into the outside world, searching, calling for the other Kwamis.

 _Vengeance doth make a mighty storm._

 _The Ladybug has been reborn._

* * *

 **Thank you for all of your amazing encouragement! More is on the way! :)**


	3. Hard To Swallow

The day had started out like any normal day.

Go to school.

Talk with Nino and Cholé.

It had started out normal but then the suspicion had settled over him.

Being Chat Noir had taught him to listen to his suspicions especially when the unpleasant sixth sense caused an involuntary shiver to coast down his spine.

Plagg peeked out of Adrien's bag, fixing the blond-haired boy with an unflinching green-eyed stare.

So Plagg had felt it too?

It was like….like sensing an Akuma but... worse.

Adrien turned in his seat glancing at Marinette out of the corner of his eye.

Something to do with Marinette….

 _Was she upset?_

 _Was she at risk of being turned into an akuma victim?_

Whatever the case something was wrong.

Something was going to go horribly wrong he could feel the chill of the suspicion settling into his bones.

The bell chimed the end of the day and the rest of his classmates abandoned their seats running for the door, trying to reach freedom.

Adrien turned to face Marinette, taking a moment to process that Alya wasn't in the seat next to the bluenette.

The suspicion only grew sending pins-and-needles down his arms.

"Hey, where's Alya?"

"Vacation. Italy I think, she said she'd be back on Monday."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"So….this is probably going to sound really weird but….would you mind if I walked you home?"

She jumped about six feet in the air and looked on the verge of a heart attack.

"Y-you wa- want to- to walk _me_ home?" She stuttered.

"Is that okay?"

"Of course! I would love for you to walk me home but you really don't have to do that it's not too far I- I can manage." She flicked a nervous glance at her purse in attempt to hide the color that was blossoming across her cheeks.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Adrien pressed.

"Of course, why wouldn't I be?"

she asked folding her arms to hide the fact that they had started to shake.

Another nervous glance at her purse.

Adrien felt more pins-and-needles

"If.. you're sure you'll be okay."

"Yeah, yeah. I'll see you tomorrow right?" Her voice was nearly a whisper as she skirted around him and walked backwards out of the room, waving to him as she went.

He watched her go.

The pins-and-needles feeling intensified causing him to rub his arms as Plagg evacuated his hiding spot.

"I've got a bad feeling, Plagg."

The little black cat just looked at him, ears, whiskers and tail twitching restlessly.

"I think I need to transform." Adrien continued, rubbing his arms as he exchanged a look with his Kwami. It felt like his arm was going to sleep.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Kid."

Adrien froze, blinking at the tiny cat. "What, why?"

"I've been advised against it."

"What do you mean?"

"It's too dangerous."

"Danger? But if there's danger then I can handle it better if I'm transformed." Adrien reasoned.

"But-" Plagg began to protest. Adrien wasn't listening. Pins-and-needles. Horrible feeling.

Adrien blew out an exasperated breath. "Plagg I'm sorry, claws out."

–

Chat Noir climbed out the window, clambering onto the school's rooftop and scanning the crowded school grounds below.

Spotting the familiar figure of his classmate crossing the crosswalk he watched her; eyes calculating, cat ears twitching.

He saw her glance over her shoulder but she didn't look up, didn't see him.

She continued walking.

He tilted his head, curious.

He could have been projecting his sense of uneasy onto her but he couldn't shake off the sense that something was going on.

So he followed her.

She ducked into the shadows of another alleyway, odd; the bakery was just three blocks away from the school and yet... this was the second time she'd doubled back on her steps. Why not just heard straight home? It….. was almost like she could sense him following her and was trying to lose him.

He crouched down on the rooftop and watched, eyes scanning his surroundings; another shiver raced down his spine as he saw a shadow detach itself from the alleyway directly across from the one that Mari had just vacated.

If he'd been an actual cat he was very sure that his back would have arched.

He didn't like the look of this man at all. The stranger appeared normal. He wore a trenchcoat, a hat tipped back over his face. Normal people didn't lurk around alleyways.

Normal people didn't stalk teenage girls.

Chat crouched lower, fighting the snarl that bubbled in the back of his throat as his claws extended from his gloves.

He shot a glance to Marinette then to the stranger who was tailing her. He set his green eyes on Marinette once more. Willing his gaze to burn into her back. Willing her to turn around. To not turn around. To sense the danger and run.

 _Run._

For a split second she froze. Then she bolted, rushing towards the sound of traffic on the next street over.

The man in the trenchcoat went after her, cursing under his breath.

Chat followed after them; surprised by the unexpected speed both of them possessed.

Both girl and man disappeared around the corner and Chat heard a scream.

Clearing the space between one roof to the next Chat took in the scene below him as another scream pierced the air setting his sensitive cat ears to ringing.

It hadn't been Marinette who'd screamed.

The sound of panic had come from a woman; a middle-aged woman who had been walking along the sidewalk.

Chat's ears flattened against his head as he saw what exactly the woman had been screaming at.

 _Gun._

The man had a gun pointed at Marinette.

Chat didn't even bother to cover up the hiss that came out of his throat.

 _Don't you dare!_

The blue-haired girl turned around, eyes flying wide as she caught sight of the man and the weapon that was pointed at her chest.

No sooner had she turned around did Chat hear the click of the trigger.

He saw Marinette's eyes go even wider, mouth opening in disbelief as her hands flew to her chest a split second before she crumpled to the sidewalk.

Chat's own mouth widened in a wordless scream as panic erupted on the streets below. There was a stabbing pain in the back of his skull, as if someone had shot _him_ in the back of the head, the sudden pain left his head reeling, blinking white spots out of his eyes he pushed away the pounding in his skull.

He jumped from the roof, landing in a crouch eyes locked on his prey as he stood and lunged towards the armed man.

He saw the glowing outline of a butterfly mask descend upon the man's face and only had a split second to think _: Akuma._ Before the man vanished in a cloud of black and purple smoke.

Just like that…. gone.

Chat whirled around trying to find the villain but the man didn't reappear. Convinced that the man had gone away for now he turned his attention to the body that lay on the sidewalk.

Police sirens wailed in the distance, coming closer. He inched towards the body. Stomach churning at the sight of blood.

He shook his head to clear it, kneeling. Pressing his hand to the bullet wound in a futile attempt to stop the bleeding.

Her chest was moving. She was breathing but any attempt he made to get her to speak to him failed. He could feel her pulse fading beneath his gloved fingertips.

She was beyond words.

Beyond saving.

Dying….dead.

* * *

Back in the present Adrien lurched upright in bed, struggling to force air past his own lungs as he tried to calm his own erratic heartbeat.

He caught sight of Plagg from the corner of his eye. The Kwami watched him silently, unmoving as green slitted eyes bore into Adrien's own, seeming to read his thoughts.

Wordlessly Adrien pushed away the covers and padded barefoot to his wall of windows, silent as a cat.

He stared, unseeing at the still dark sky. Lost in his thoughts, his nightmares following him into the waking world.

The sunrise painted the sky in yellow and orange and red; only then did Adrien turn away from the window. Meaning to disappear before anyone else in the house awoke

"We're walking to school today." He told Plagg in explanation as he pushed out his bedroom door and made his way down the stairs.

The streets of Paris seemed unnaturally hushed despite the buzz of the usual morning traffic and the unnatural silence didn't lift away once he reached the front of the school; but then again, the school had been silent ever since word of Marinette's….death had been disclosed to the Parisian public over the news.

Even Cholé seemed to have enough decency to withhold any scathing remarks that Adrien had come to expect from his blonde, childhood friend. Surely even Cholé wouldn't dare speak ill of the dead.

Adrien made his way to the classroom and slipped into his seat hunching his shoulders as he leaned forward in his desk attempting to ignore the fact that he could sense the empty air behind him where Marinette's chair sat vacant.

Alya had returned from her vacation in Italy only to have the news of her best friend's murder shoved down her throat. Adrien knew that that truth must have been hard for Alya to swallow.

He knew it had certainly been hard for _him_ to swallow, however Alya was feeling over the incident. Adrien was sure that he felt a thousand times worse.

He'd been right _there._

It was his _job_ to save people and he'd failed.

Failed to save her life.

It was his fault she was dead.

If Ladybug had been there, Ladybug would have saved her.

He barely felt it when Alya leaned forward tapping his shoulder. Adrien turned, looking at the brown-haired bespectacled girl as Alya began to speak voice barely above a whisper as she looked past him, over his shoulder at the door.

"She liked you, you know? She used to talk about you all the time. I couldn't get her to shut up about you sometimes and it drove me insane."

The smile she flashed him was bittersweet as she wiped her face with the back of her arm, trying to make the tears go away before they actually started.

Adrien blinked.

Feeling as if the world had suddenly been flipped upside and his feet had been ripped out from under him, sending him falling into space.

"Sorry, there was probably a better way to tell you about that…. I just….thought you should know... since she won't be able to tell you herself now that she's…" Alya didn't dare finish the sentence.

Adrien nodded slowly. "Thanks... for telling me." He turned back around in his seat. Feeling as if a chasm had just opened up in his chest as his sense of guilt intensified, clawing at his heart.

 _You don't know what you have until it's gone._

Maybe that was why he'd refused to believe in her death, despite seeing it himself, despite the other dozens of eyewitness reports. It just seemed too hard for him to swallow as her last words to him echoed in his head.

" ' _See you tomorrow' "_

Despite watching her die he refused to accept the idea that he'd failed to save his friend.

And now that he knew she had liked him, it made swallowing the fact that she was gone all the more difficult.


	4. Wish

**31 reviews?! I'm speechless! Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you! Just a heads up. Updates are probably going to be more unpredictable starting in November because I'm going to be doing NaNoWriMo. (National Novel Writing Mouth) just in case anyone is unfamiliar with the acronym. I promise I'll update when I can.**

* * *

Ladybug paced along the rooftop across from the bakery.

Chat wasn't here for once and she couldn't decide if that was a good thing or not; for one thing there was no one here to witness her inner struggle for another there was no one here to offer advice on her dilemma. She would usually run her ideas past Tikki so as not to do anything extremely rash that might have dire consequences.

Although admittedly she wasn't sure if any decision she could make from this point forward would have consequences as severe as losing her life.

She rubbed her earrings and couldn't help the tears from spilling out of her eyes as she looked back at the bakery, vision rapidly beginning to blur thanks to her tears.

She _wanted_ to go back. So, so desperately, _desperately_ wanted to go back to that building. To seek comfort in the familiarity of her room and her family. She wanted to go back and be safe. She was just a teenage girl after all. She wanted to go back to the half of her life that was _supposed_ to be normal and safe.

She let out a sniffle as she rubbed away the tears as the longing turned slowly to resentment in her gut.

She couldn't go back, it wasn't safe. If Hawkmoth found out that Marinette Dupain-Cheng had _miraculous_ ly returned from the dead….. there was just too much of a chance of him putting two and two together and that would put her and anyone else she knew in more danger than she could protect them from.

She was unbelievably lucky that the supervillain hadn't gone after her parents already. Having Marinette dead and out of the picture had seemed to satisfy him enough... for now.

So it stood to reason that she stay as far away from her parents as possible no matter how much it hurt. It was for their own safety.

Still…. No... she couldn't.

She took a step away from the roof's edge as if distance would smother the temptation. She wrapped her arms around herself not so much because she was cold, she was just lonely.

She wished she could tell someone that she was okay- but she wouldn't. She didn't dare.

Hawkmoth had sent an akuma to _kill her_. She wouldn't put anyone else at risk of suffering the same fate.

She couldn't reveal Marinette Dupain-Cheng as alive until she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was _safe_ and that meant that Hawkmoth had to be stopped.

She brushed her hair out of her face, touching an earring as Chat's words replayed in her head. _' If I had one more chance I would have saved her.'_

She remembered him trying... remembered his voice in her ears telling her to wake up and hold on she had wanted to confess the truth to him right there- tell him who she was, trust one person with her secret but she had been too far over the line of life and death to speak or open her eyes all she remembered was his voice following her into the dark before it too had faded away…..

She wished Chat was here so she could tell him…or not... maybe she wanted Chat here so that she could pretend her death hadn't happened.

Pretend that the heart inside of her chest had never stopped beating.

Because….. it had scared her. Not death. The gun had scared her. The _thought_ of dying had scared her but that act of dying in and of itself hadn't been scary.

Coming back had been the thing that scared her.

She liked to think that she knew _why_ she had risen from the dead. It was to stop Hawkmoth….but the truth was that she didn't really know _why_ or _how_.

And the one thing that could give her answers wasn't here; She touched her earrings again, seeking comfort from the tiny being trapped inside.

Why her? Why not just leave her to whatever afterlife she'd been in? Had it not been her time? Was….was she immortal?! Did the Ladybug earrings grant immortality? No….no surely not Tikki had mentioned past Ladybugs before and if there had been past Ladybugs and she was the current Ladybug why bring _her_ back from the dead and not any of the other more experienced and certainly more qualified Ladybugs? Why leave her alone with all of this confusion?

She placed a trembling hand over her heart, almost recoiling as she felt the rapid beating of the organ beneath her fingertips.

She shuddered. Afraid that the pulse would suddenly stop and afraid that it would continue.

People weren't supposed to come back from the dead... there were stories of it but….it was unnatural and that was why she'd come to fear her own heartbeat.

She wished Tikki was there to tell her what to do, to explain.

"Tikki, please." she whispered her voice disappearing into the night. "I just want to know why…."

No answer.

Just silence.

Just her.

Alone in Paris, wandering the streets at night like a ghost searching for Hawkmoth so she could seek her vengeance and put an end to something that had gone a step too far.

She shouldn't be here.

Shouldn't be this close to the bakery.

Shouldn't be alive.

 _Why?_

That single question had been on her mind ever since she'd woken up and realized that she was in a morgue.

She took yet another step back from the roof's edge and suddenly spun around entirely; pivoting on her heel to run back the way she'd come. Her inner turmoil having reached a point of hysteria, and all she wanted to do was run.

Run from the bakery with its darkened windows that conjured up joyful memories to mock her, reminding her of the family she had to ignore.

Run from the questions that screamed inside of her head until it actually hurt.

Run from the memories of the akumatized man with the gun who showed up in her nightmares and whom she felt lurking in every shadow, breathing on her neck watching her, waiting. The embodiment of her fear and her helplessness.

Run.

Her legs took over and her mind went blank, thinking of nothing and everything all at once. Focusing on the rhythmic pounding of her feet on the rooftops. The small wind she felt as she disturbed air that had previously been still…... she skidded to a halt, nearly pitching herself over the side of the roof before she managed to regain her balance stumbling back as she turned her head to get her bearings.

Trying to quite her rapid breathing as she listened. She'd heard something.

She might have just imagined the sound but she wasn't sure….no she was definitely hearing something.

She tilted her head, curious.

* * *

The house was made of nothing but shadows and moonlight and silence.

The peaceful silence made his normally quiet footsteps echo more loudly than they would have if someone else had been awake.

The shadows watched him cross the hallway to a room just besides the kitchen.

He turned the doorknob and pushed the white-painted door open with a slight squeak of hinges.

The room itself was rather small compared to the other rooms inside the house and rather unremarkable.

The same white marble floors with the intricate black pattern in the center that matched the design on the floor of the entryway; the entire back wall was made up of three massive windows that let in sunlight during the day and spilled moonlight across the floor at night.

Leaving a contrast of ink-black shadows and shimmering moonlight; washing the room in black and white like an old photograph.

Adrien crossed to the center of the room turning his back to the cold breeze filtering in through one of the open windows. He sat at the black grand piano.

* * *

"That's very pretty."

The soft spoken voice made him jolt sending his fingers skittering across the keys and producing an off-key string of meaningless notes that made him flinch as he recalled many lectures his piano teacher would have given him.

His heart pounded in his chest and he was almost afraid to turn around because a tiny spark of hope had flared up in the chasm of his chest because that voice sounded like…. Marinette?

He spun around and tried to mask his slight disappointment to find Ladybug standing against the back wall.

"Oh, it's just you." He exhaled slowly.

She tilted her head giving him a strange look that he couldn't quite piece together. "Who else would it be?"

"I thought... never mind- you almost gave me a heart attack."

"S- sorry. I probably shouldn't be here anyway, I-I just heard the piano music and I couldn't help it. I- it's really good- I can tell you've had a lot of practice and I'm rambling like an idiot and I'm going to shut up now-"

He flushed and turned back to the piano, praying that it was too dark for her to see his face turning red at her compliment.

"Thanks. I-I guess." His head was still lowered so he didn't see the matching blush on her face.

Taking a moment to compose herself she crossed the room and he turned his attention back to her, eyes drawn to her; the only splash of color amidst the black and white.

She walked around to the other side of the piano, her hands skimming over the polished surface of the piano she cast him a sideways glance.

"It really was pretty the music….who was it for?"

Adrien stared at her, his mouth trying to form words as he stared down at the black and white keys between his fingers. "It's for...a friend from school who...isn't around anymore."

Underneath the mask Marinette's heart lept into her throat at his words. _He...thinks I'm a friend?_

"Would...would you mind playing it for me? That's okay if you don't want t-"

Adrien lifted his eyes from the piano keys and looked at her. Cutting her off mid-rant; green eyes seeming to glow in the darkness. Reflecting the moonlight spilling in through the windows and for a moment the world seemed to stop entirely before Ladybug turned away from him silently berating herself for asking such a stupid question.

"It's my fault she's dead you know."

Ladybug whriled back around, her head turning so fast that she almost suffered from whiplash. Her mouth flying open to spew out a protest.

"It's not your fault!" _Why does he think its his fault?_

"Yes it is, I should have walked her home, I had a bad feeling something was going to happen and I let her walk into it alone! I couldn't stop it."

"If anyone here is to blame its me!" She attempted to ease his guilt by laying the blame on herself, after all hadn't it been her fault for walking into that situation in the first place, she'd made an enemy of Hawkmoth since day one, It was her fault for underestimating the lengths that he'd been willing to go to.

"I know, you can't save everyone."

Her mouth opened and closed as she processed his words, she'd said almost the exact same thing to Chat only a few nights ago.

She opened her mouth again another protest rising to her lips in the form of a confession. Hadn't she been wishing she could tell someone that Marinette was alive just moments ago? Hadn't she wanted to tell someone that she was alive? Well here was someone she could confess to but when she tired to get the words out they lodged themselves in her throat.

"I...I should go."

She turned away from him marching towards the windows as she steeled herself against her decision; because she'd be dead and damned three more times over before she ever put Adrien in danger.

* * *

She landed on the balcony above her bedroom, it was a risk coming her and she knew it.

 _Just this once._ She told herself as she opened the trapdoor and descended into her bedroom below.

Everything was exactly how she had left it.

She never thought that the sight of her room would make her cry.

She collapsed onto her bed and let out silent sobs.


	5. Move On

**Well, new chapter since I got caught up with my word count for my NaNoWritMo novel. Slow progress is still progress. Anyways, on to the chapter!**

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Cholé hadn't expected anything so awfully tragic to happen to Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Honestly. Marinette of all people? That girl had been the luckiest person in their entire grade- well... up until she'd gotten shot but that went without saying. She honestly felt horrible for treating Marinette so badly but could anyone honestly _blame_ her? That girl had challenged Cholé's social standing amongst their classmates within... like a day it went without saying that Cholé wasn't used to having people challenging her authority.

She was used to getting what she wanted and not being talked back to.

Not to mention Marinette's _painfully obvious_ crush on Adrien….. Cholé had felt threatened by that….not that she would ever admit that fact to anyone but seriously.

Marinette wouldn't even know who Adrien was if Cholé hadn't told her about him and then the clueless girl had managed to slowly ruin Adrien's opinion of her! Damaging years and years of carefully cultivated childhood friendship between her and Adrikins in a matter of months.

Not that she would say anything in light of current events; she wouldn't risk damaging her reputation among her peers anymore than it already was but it was becoming increasingly difficult to hold her tongue.

Yeah, yeah tragic death allow everyone to mourn that was all well and good and necessary but it was becoming ridiculous, utterly _ridiculous!_

Everyone else had been sucked into a seemingly irreversible slump and she was seriously being dragged down with everyone's refusal to move on when she'd already reached that stage herself.

Adrien was the worst out of everyone else and it annoyed her to the point where she wanted to scream at him to suck it up and move on, Daddy had told her to be patient with him but…... she couldn't take it anymore!

"Stop sulking! You hardly knew her for goodness sake!"

She knew that had been the wrong thing to say when he turned to her, glaring at her with his green eyes burning as if he could send her up in smoke to make her disappear.

 _Fine._ If he wanted to be mad at her, she would take it in stride. Anything to get him to snap out of this despondent state he'd been in for the past two weeks.

"Go ahead and yell at me! I don't care anymore. Admit you hate me if that's what it takes for you to feel something! I'd rather you hate me then see you like _this_." she couldn't help the little scoff that escaped her throat. "You're going to hate hearing this but I'm going to give you the brutally honest truth: Move on."

"I don't hate you,"

Cholé blinked at the unexpected response and she was struck speechless at Adrien's words. "I wish you would be nicer to people but I don't hate you."

"Well you act like it sometimes I- don't try to turn this into a discussion about _me_. I don't want to talk about me for once. I'm worried about you."

"I'm fine."

"You're a horrible liar. What do you really feel?"

"I don't know."

"Stop being stubborn and just tell me. I'm not a freaking mind-reader."

"If I told you the honest truth then you'd think I'm crazy, because _I'm_ starting to think that I'm crazy but I don't think she's dead."

 _Oh dear God he's in denial._

Cholé couldn't help the laughter that bubbled out of her, reducing her nearly to tears she wasn't _trying_ to laugh at his obvious pain and suffering but the idea was admittedly _utterly ridiculous!_

She choked on the rest of her laugh when she caught him scowling at her. "See, you think I'm crazy."

"No! No I'm sorry, I'll stop," she sucked in a breath and met Adrien's gaze her face slipping into a mask of serious consideration as she paced back and forth in front of Adrien's bed, heels sinking into the rug a little bit and she paused to kick them off before resuming her pacing barefoot.

"Okay if it will make you feel better let's entertain the utterly ridiculous idea that she is alive. Okay hypothetical alternate reality is in place. We live in a world where Marinette's alive. Life is perfectly normal." Adrien eyed Cholé carefully unsure as to where this conversation was going but not really having the heart to tell her to leave him alone to his misery, she would never understand the full extent of the guilt that seemed to cling to him like a second skin, another invisible mask that he had to keep in place to stop himself from crumbling in front of everyone at school and in public lest he have a complete and utter mental breakdown and blurt his secret identity to the entirety of Pairs simply because he had a fool's hope that revealing his deepest darkest secret would make every single mistake he'd ever made in his entire life suddenly reverse and grant him the power to bring back the dead?

Cholé cut into his thoughts with an impatient snap of her fingers. "Hello? Pay attention! Now Let's say Marinette's alive right now. Hypothetically speaking. If Marinette were to die in some tragic way and nothing could be done about it. She wouldn't want everyone to cry over it, she would want people to remember her life, not focus on her death."

Adrien stared at her, not even bothering to try and cover up his obvious surprise at the unexpected and oddly heartfelt speech that had just come out of a mouth so used to dishing out gossip and snobbish remarks.

"How did you-"

"Keep thy friends close and thy enemies closer."

Silence enveloped them once more, pressing down on each of them with a physical weight that made Cholé's shoulders slump and she _never_ slumped! It was horrible for a person's posture! She huffed in annoyance and stalked over to Adrien's desk; leaning one hip against it as she drummed her sunshine-yellow painted nails against the dark wooden surface lost in thought and more than a little irritated by Adrien's lack of communication.

"Seriously what is with you? You're keeping something from me. I want to know what's going on."

"I don't know what you mean." Came the deadpan and nearly emotionless reply.

"Adrien come on! You can trust me I promise, you've been acting weird lately, more so than usual."

"More than usual?"

"You _seriously_ don't think I've noticed how much you sneak off? How you're really late to class? How," she cast a wary glance at Adrien's closed bedroom door as if to make sure they wouldn't be overheard as she lowered her voice even further to a conspiratorial whisper. She leaned towards him. "How you sometimes don't even show up... like at all… how you…. _ditch_." she said the word with a shudder; as much as Cholé complained about the education system she would never ever ditch her classes. It wasn't just her reputation at stake when it came to matters like that but also her father's.

People would certainly talk if the _Mayor's daughter_ started skipping classes. "What are you going to do when you're dad starts getting suspicious about your amount of unexcused absences?" Cholé pressed.

"Trust me, if he finds out why I've been missing my classes then I'm going to have a lot of explaining to do." Adrien tired not to move his eyes instinctively towards the potted plant that was barely half of a foot away from Cholé. The leaves of the aforementioned plant gave a subtle twitch as Plagg hid himself deeper within the foliage, watching and listening silently to the conversation playing out before him as he waited for Cholé to take her leave.

"Adrien you're going to get yourself in trouble and I wish I knew why. You can tell me, you can trust me I swear. I swear on my newest Prada handbag! Prada Adrien! I never swear on that unless I mean it."

Adrien hissed in a breath and exhaled in the form of a sigh.

"It's... complicated."

"What's complicated?" Cholé demanded, slapping her hand down on the desk her fingers splayed outward, she'd disturbed his computer mouse; the desktop lit up, displaying the page that Adrien had been looking at before Cholé had marched unannounced into his room.

Cholé rolled her eyes as she spotted the all too-familiar red and black polka dotted color scheme of the LadyBlog home page; any other day and Cholé would have:

A) Teased Adrien about his crush on Ladybug. Or

B) Gushed about the newest post with him.

It was one of the few things they actually still had in common: Being die-hard Ladybug fans.

Expect there was nothing new on Alya's blog to gush about. The newest post was a week old and it wasn't even something Alya herself had filmed. It was second-hand footage linked from a different online news website. Footage that had been shot by some random bystander with a stupid low-quality cell phone camera. _Amateur_.

Even with the crappy footage Cholé knew what it was. It was: Documentation of the last akuma attack. Footage of Marinette getting shot, of Chat Noir jumping off of a roof and for lack of better term looking like he was going in for the kill. Cholé glanced over her shoulder at Adrien who had gone completely silent.

She made a noise of frustration and jabbed a finger down on the computer mouse; pausing the video footage and whirling on Adrien like she'd caught him in the middle of committing a crime. "Why are you watching that stupid video on repeat? We've seen it enough on the _actual_ news channel."

Adrien opened his mouth to reply then pressed his lips into a thin line as he caught sight of the look Plagg was giving him from within the leafy green depths of his hiding place: A warning, a reminder that he couldn't confide his secret to anyone the truth would put someone else in danger.

Adrien was saved trying to make an excuse for why he'd been watching the video when a chime sound emitted from his computer speakers, alerting him about a new notification.

Curious he leaned forward, trying to read the bubble that had popped up on the computer screen.

 _ **New video post for: The LadyBlog. Click here!**_

He and Cholé had the same split- second thought process. Cholé just happened to be closer to his computer.

She clicked to refresh the page and a new video popped up on the screen right above the one they had just been watching.

Alya's brown eyes and big smile filled the screen as she pushed her glasses up on her nose.

Right away Adrien could tell the smile was forced.

"Hey guys!" Alya's voice filtered through his computer speakers; sounding shaky and already choked up.

"I saw all of your amazing comments on my last video... I-um want to say thanks for those of you who offered your condolences to the family and friends of Marinette Dupain-Cheng. It means a lot like seriously you're all fantastic. Thank you…..unfortunately I've been thinking and... I think it's best if I stop posting videos on this blog for awhile... it's just kind of... I guess I just…. I don't have the motivation right now. What I'm trying to say is….This is Alya signing off... indefinitely….stay Miraculous everyone."

…... Cholé and Adrien stared unblinking and open-mouthed as the video faded to black.

"You have _got_ to be kidding me!" Cholé screeched, Adrien flinched

"What?" he asked, confused by what would warrant an outburst of this magnitude. Cholé spun on the heel of her foot, arms shooting into the air and Adrien could practically see the imaginary smoke coming out of her ears.

"Marinette!" Cholé snarled. Adrien instinctively tensed at the pure rage in her tone.

"Everything is "Marinette _this_ " or "poor Mari _that_ and I'm sick of _it_! What does Marinette even have to do with the LadyBlog?! And now that's going to disappear too?"

"Well Marinette _was_ Alya's best friend."

" _So_?"

"So, give her time. She'll come around eventually."

"Whatever, I'm sooo over all this! Everyone else needs to MOVE ON!" She seethed, storming out of the the room and slamming the door behind her.

Adrien sighed and flopped backwards onto his bed. Counting mentally in his head how many seconds it would take before Cholé remembered her shoes.

Fifteen seconds before she stormed back into the room; a new record.

"Forgot my high-heels." She explained unnecessarily as she snatched her shoes up from where she'd left them on the carpet next to his bed. She stormed back out again without a goodbye.

Adrien sat up once he was sure Cholé was gone.

Plagg had abandoned his hiding spot and was now hovering over the desk staring at the computer screen; tiny black ears twitching.

Plagg hadn't said one word to him since Marinette's death and Adrien couldn't help but feel like this was punishment for disobeying Plagg's warning about it being too dangerous to transform.

Plagg flicked his tail towards Adrien's nightstand where his cell phone was left charging. Adrien picked up on the non-verbal communication pretty easily.

Call Alya.


	6. Talk To Me

Alya Césaire sat in her room staring at a computer screen that had long since gone dark and swirling a plastic spoon around in the melted pint of strawberry ice cream that that had gone untouched since Nino had dropped it off about a half hour ago. She'd thanked for the sweet gesture of course but she couldn't bring herself to stomach any of the treat.

Strawberry ice cream had been Marinette's favorite; eating any of it would cause Alya to dredge up all of those happy memories of eating ice cream at midnight whenever they would have sleepovers- she could handle the memories... but the tears that those thoughts would no doubt cause? She didn't want to cry anymore. Crying wouldn't bring her best friend back.

She turned her head away from the container of melted ice cream in shame as a single tear landed inside of it. Turning her attention back to her black computer screen and took a shaky breath as she pushed her glasses up on the bridge of her nose.

She'd just…..done that. She'd quit the LadyBlog; something that had been a huge part of her life for almost two years now... she'd just... stopped. Indefinitely of course but she couldn't help feeling like this was actually the end.

What did it matter if she found out who Ladybug and Chat Noir were?

Without Marinette there... there would be no one to share her success with….almost two years worth of research and theories and even a few interviews with Chat and Ladybug themselves and she had just... pulled the plug on it?

The thing that scared her about it was the fact that she didn't feel sad about letting go of the blog. She didn't feel angry with herself for giving up on something that had once made her so happy. She just felt….numb...like Ladybug and Chat Noir could come knocking on her door and reveal themselves to her and she just... wouldn't care.

Her best friend was...gone. Dead. Killed by an akuma of all things and Alya couldn't help the terrible feeling in her gut that if she had been there- if she had been there she could have stopped it. Things would have been different if she had been there.

She didn't know that for a fact of course and as a journalist she had to look at the facts.

Fact: Marinette was dead.

Fact: If Alya had been with her who was to say that something terrible wouldn't have happened to her as well?

It just wasn't fair...none of it was fair! And Alya was suffering so many conflicting emotions that it was physically exhausting her.

One minute she would be crying her eyes out into a melted pint of strawberry ice cream and the next she would be throwing her phone at the wall and pacing as her brain conjured up suicidal revenge plots- hunting down that elusive akuma and battling it one on one and kicking its butt- she had once told Marinette that all that was necessary for the triumph of evil was for good people to do nothing.

She was a good person….wasn't she?

She felt like she was doing nothing.

….and here came the newest wave of tears born of her frustration and her righteous rage, vision blurring she tossed her phone at the wall, the minor violent action giving her a slight measure of satisfaction as the phone hit the wall and fell with another more muffled thud to her carpeted floor.

Pushing away from her computer desk with a noise somewhere between rage and disgust at her own immaturity she meant to cross the room to retrieve her abused phone from the floor but ended up pacing her room with short quick steps trying to rid herself of the tempest of sudden anger now raging in her mind like a thunderstorm.

 _Do something, do something, do something!_ What on Earth was she supposed to do? Her best friend was dead! An event and an action that had thrown Alya's entire world into a ugly shell of its former self; composed of bouts of rage and seemingly endless hours of crying and guilt….oh someone please take away her guilt!

 _It could have been her._ That was the first thought to break into her mind when she had first heard about Marinette's death. It could have been her.

It could have been Alya whom had gone before her time, it could have been her whom was no longer breathing. She had always run towards the akuma fights regardless of Marinette warning her time and time again to stay away from them.

The journalist instinct overpowering her common sense! She'd always been so intent on capturing the action of it all, of being placed in an almost altered reality whenever she watched Ladybug and Chat Noir fight; it was breathtaking and exhilarating like watching the best superhero movie in existence only a thousand times better because she was right there she was _living_ it. The entirety of Paris had been turned into the backdrop and setting for a real life superheros' saga and she Alya Césaire was part of the story, she was part of something! She was going to make history. Her main mission: To unmask these mysterious heros who had been chosen to defeat some great evil- she didn't consider her actions to be viewed in a threatening light- she merely wanted to put a face to the people behind the mask, to peel away the glamor of mystery and prove that Ladybug and Chat were human; that ordinary people could be capable of doing something extraordinary!

... she hadn't stopped to really realize that in order for there to be superheros then there must of course be supervillains- she had her fair share of theories on the akuma victims as well but she never took them all that seriously because the majority of them looked utterly ridiculous and all of them had been defeated easily enough.

She never really considered the possibility that one of them could actually pose serious threat, and it had taken Marinette's death to shove her head first into reality.

A reality that seemed cruel now that she didn't have Marinette to help her face it.

Yeah sure she had Nino and Adrien but that wasn't entirely the same as having Marinette; she doubted that Nino would let her paint his fingernails and talk for hours on end about whatever she happened to be currently obsessed with….there were just some things that were better if you did them with your best girl friend.

Although the mental image of Nino with glitter nail polish on was worth a small upward twitch of her lips; the closest she had come to smiling in days…..Which reminded her of why she shouldn't be smiling and sent her plunging back into the mental thunderstorm.

It should have been her. She was the one who had been rushing into the danger, so intent on capturing the action for her and her devoted blog followers.

Capture every single moment to spew a fully detailed account to Marinette afterwards- mainly just so that Alya herself could believe what she had just witnessed….. Marinette; sweet, gentle patient Marinette who had always listened to Alya's recounts of akuma battles no matter how many times she repeated the stories and always the same heartfelt reply on Marinette's part. 'That's great Alya! I'm glad you're okay.' The last part of the sentence she had gotten used to replying to...a little bit too casually considering the circumstances. 'of course I'm okay' before she would continue her daring account of the events that caused her enough excitement that she felt she would explode if she didn't tell everyone.

Now though…..it seemed the cruelest form of karma to have her best friend's life ended in such a way. Alya had always been the one to risk her safety in her attempts to get close to the action, she had practically been asking for something bad to happen to her- she had been almost sacrificed to an Egyptian god that one time-

Alya growled at her thoughts in frustration, halting in her pacing to see if that had anything to do with her train of thought going back and forth, put while she stood still her mind continued to pace, her guilt growing and building deep inside of her like thunder.

She was the one who rushed toward the danger not Marinette. No Marinette always disappeared during akuma fights, waiting for the danger to pass before she managed to track down Alya afterwards and listen to her ramblings with that relieved look shining in her bright blue eyes and that patient smile on her face….and now Alya could only imagine what it would have been like if she and Marinette's places were switched.

She couldn't bare the thought of putting her best friend through this turmoil of emotions….If Alya had died instead….if Marinette were alive….that was all the world was anymore; All of Alya's questions had been turned into "ifs"

'If I had been there for Marinette'

'If I had been the one to die'

Even the biggest question in her life had been turned from 'who is behind the Ladybug mask' into '...if I knew... would I care?'

Revealing the identities of Paris superheros to the entire city didn't seem as appealing if she didn't have Marinette to share in her success. If she didn't hear Marinette say 'I'm proud of you'

Alya wiped angrily at her tears, marching to the wall to retrieve her phone from the floor. Spinning around to face the window. Pulling her arm back prepared to throw her phone at the window and shatter glass. _Do something!_

She froze.

Ladybug was crouched outside of Alya's open window, hand poised to tap on the screen and announce her presence, seeming caught off guard by Alya's sudden turn around.

The red-and-black clad superheroine offered Alya a small tight-lipped smile, the kind that was one muscle twitch away from becoming a frown.

"Tough day?" Ladybug asked through the window screen, the whisper still managing to reach Alya's ears.

If Alya's guilt could be compared to thunder; then her temper was lightning.

"Why do you care!" She snapped. Too upset and swept up in her storm of emotions to really process the fact that she was yelling at her idol.

Too angry to notice that Ladybug flinched at her tone.

The superheroine's mouth twitched into a frown and she shifted uncomfortably. Her voice dropping even lower that Alya had to strain her ears to make out the words with the blood rushing in her ears.

"I'm sorry about….your friend."

Alya's shoulders slumped and she felt the prickling behind her eyelids that warned of another approaching onslaught of tears.

Her anger wasn't entirely spent though.

"I don't need anybody's pity, everyone else says that they're sorry. I don't want to hear sorry, I want someone to do something! I want to fix what was my fault!"

A look of almost panicked bewilderment descended over Ladybug's face at Alya's guilt-stricken rage-filled words.

"It was not your fault! If anyone's to blame for this mess it's me I-I should have done something, I'm going to do something. I promise you, I swear on my Miraculous…" she bit her lip, cutting herself off and Alya wasn't quite sure if Ladybug spoke the next words or if her furious mind was just putting words into the mouth of justice.

"...all that was necessary for the triumph of evil is that good people to do nothing."

Alya blinked back the first of the tears and opened her mouth, to scream or sob she didn't know but before she could do anything at all her phone rang in her hand and she instinctively glanced towards it to see who it was. Mouth dropping open and an eyebrow shooting up when she saw Adrien's name on the Caller ID. What on Earth could he want to talk to her about?

Granted she had told him that Marinette had a crush on him. _And_ she'd just posted a statement about quitting her blog... neither bits of information she imagined he could be handling well. Still…. a selfish part of her hoped he was calling to talk her out of the latter because she didn't think she could handle dredging up memories of Marinette. She didn't want to suffer through that kind of pain for the sake of another person quite yet.

She stood there, in the middle of her room feeling indecisive from one of the few times in her short life, torn between answering the phone and retreating behind the semblance of normalcy of having a conversation with Adrien.

Or ignoring him in favor of interrogating the mystery that was Ladybug. It was after all an opportunity. It wasn't every day a superhero showed up at your window and offered you unwanted condolences for your dead best friend.

The decision was made for her though because in the few seconds she had glanced at her phone Ladybug had disappeared back into the fading light of the setting sun. Leaving no trace that she'd be there other than Alya's own memory.

The budding journalist sighed through her nose, took another deep breath through her mouth and prayed that her voice wasn't going to betray her distraught emotional state as she answered the phone. Trying for professionalism as she said:

"Talk to me."


	7. Memories and Nightmares

She couldn't believe that she had almost blabbed to Alya. If she didn't want to involve Adrien in this mess then she wanted to involve Alya even less.

Still; the truth was crawling under her skin; the secret she had kept for two years finally threatening to come out, the temptation even worse now that she wasn't supposed to be alive.

She wanted to _tell_ someone just so that another living person knew that she was alive. That _Marinette_ still existed. Not Ladybug. Marinette; she wanted her normal half back.

It wasn't safe, that akuma was still out there. She had priorities. Find the akuma, track it back to Hawkmoth...or catch the akuma and cleanse it.

Would there be any lasting effects on the victim? Lasting trauma because of how long they had been akumatized? Would the Miraculous Ladybug cure fully work especially considering the situation?

The fact that she couldn't detransform without physically taking the earrings off. Would that affect any of her abilities?

There were so many questions she didn't have the answer to. Didn't want the answers to because the types of situation that could provide answers were likely to end up being dangerous for her and anyone else involved.

Even her partnership with Chat seemed strained but she couldn't really blame him for not wanting to talk about the fact that he had witnessed Marinette- herself- dying. Look at her, she didn't want to talk about it; And here she was- pacing Paris' rooftops in the dark, hunting down the most elusive akuma she could remember while she couldn't help but fantasize revenge plots- because of it.

That dark train of thought gave her a moment of pause. Feet scuffing against the cement of the roof as the words she had said to Alya only a few hours before. "All that is necessary for the triumph for evil was that good people do nothing."

But... was she really a good person anymore if she wanted Hawkmoth's downfall?

 _Was she still a good person?_ She couldn't ask that moral question because there was no one to talk to. She was alone.

She was _supposed_ to be alone, the fact of her death aside; this was her night for solo patrol. Even on the nights when she and Chat had joined patrol….he went home…. and she didn't.

She had more or at less figured out that his home situation wasn't ideal but at least he had a home to go back to.

She had one of course- but she was afraid to go back there until anything about this mess got fixed. She didn't want to put anyone else in danger.

She wasn't supposed to handle this alone though. Wasn't that the whole reason she and Chat Noir were a team? She didn't want to see him hurt by any of her mistakes. He'd always taken hits for her...it was only a matter of time before he couldn't bounce back from the damage.

That thought sent a shiver down her spine, made her wrap her arms around herself for the illusion of warmth as she stared out at the Pairs skyline but it was the image of his pleading face that filled her mind.

The bright green eyes desperate and pleading and yet filled with so much fury and rage at the injustice- the last thing she had seen before she had closed her eyes... to wake back up in a morgue not knowing how much time had passed between her last breath and her first.

She remembered everything that had happened though. Even if she wished she could forget most of it.

The image of his face, those green eyes and blonde hair and a mouth that she was so used to seeing set in a smile or the occasional smirk had been twisted into something far more ugly something that was between a snarl and a frown.

It was that picture of his face that made her think of how she must have felt had it been him who had taken the bullet instead of herself.

Would he have come back like she had? Did the phrase 'cats have nine lives' apply to anyone wielding the Cat Miraculous?

That wasn't relevant right now. What was more concerning was that if their places had been switched and he had taken that bullet instead- be it as his civilian self or as a superhero and she had witnessed it without having time to do anything to stop it.

She would have felt guilty.

A single silent tear slid down her cheek at the thought.

She didn't want him to feel guilty.

Resolve suddenly strengthened, she traced her thumb along the smooth surface of her yoyo- the weapon doubled as a communication device.

She doubted that he would be awake right now it was almost midnight, the most she could hope for was to leave a message that he would receive the next time he transformed.

And by then she would likely regret putting the extra risk of knowing her identity on his shoulders but for the time being she didn't care.

Consequences would be dealt with.

What mattered to her at the moment was that she stop him from feeling the guilt that was no doubt eating at him from the inside out.

* * *

The little black cat Kwami watched as his Chosen moved restlessly in his sleep. Helpless to aide the boy all Plagg was capable of doing was baring his teeth at the shadows of nightmares that moved across Adrien's face as he slept

Those who possessed the Cat Miraculous had always been prone to nightmares; but these ones seemed particularly cruel for someone as young as Adrien to endure.

The ear that was pointed towards the bedroom door twitched at the faintest sound, aside from that, Plagg remained motionless as he continued vigil of his restless Chosen.

He spoke to the presence that had entered the room, coming to float beside him in the air.

"Nightmares." Plagg explained, unnecessary; seeing as how the other presence in the room could sense them better than Plagg could. Even if Adrien hadn't been tossing in his sleep because of them.

The other presence in the room said nothing; Plagg resisted the urge to lash out with teeth and claws...if only just barely.

"Nightmares that are because of something _you_ did." Plagg hissed, finally turning his green eyes away from his distressed Chosen and towards the other creature in the room.

Nooroo's wings twitched as he turned his own gaze away from Adrien's suffering and met Plagg's accusing glare, his own purple eyes filled with remorse and regret.

"I did not cause this,"

Plagg bristled, snarling at the purple Kwami.

"I did not cause this, I warned my Master that the Miraculous were not meant for evil purposes. He did not listen and the Universe shall restore balance how and when it sees fit. Ladybug has been reborn, wrongs shall be made right soon enough."

"Meanwhile I'm supposed to sit still and watch while Adrien suffers nightmares?"

"I could stop the nightmares if you will allow me," Nooroo turned his attention back to the boy sleeping restlessly in the bed below them; a sad frown on his face. "but his suffering is far from over, when Hawkmoth is unmasked. I fear it will break him in ways that cannot be fixed."

The two Kwami looked down, grim expressions on their faces.

"I could fix this though, if you would let me." Nooroo lowered him closer to the bed, hesitating a moment as he waited for Plagg's reaction.

The cat Kwami had always been the most protective when it came to his chosen ones.

When Plagg did not attempt to chase him out of the room, Nooroo proceeded to lower himself until the bottom tips of his wings were brushing the boy's forehead.

Just that much contact allowed him a small window into the boy's subconscious.

Dark, twisted, broken, panic, pain suffering, guilt….. Nooroo froze for a moment. Concentrating. Shuffling through the dark memories floating on the surface of the mind and going deeper, searching for another more enjoyable memory to replace all of the pain and suffering.

Something to reverse a fraction of the damage.

He sensed Adrien go still when Nooroo brushed over a memory.

Smiling, Nooroo latched onto the memory and pulled it to the surface, brushing aside a little bit of the nightmare to make room for the memory.

A bit of light in the dark.

Nooroo moved, breaking the contract with Adrien's subconscious as he lifted himself back into the air, pleased to see a small smile now on the boy's face .

* * *

 **AN: This has nothing to do with this story.**

 **I am suffering from a minor case of writers block. I have a few stories in progress but I want to get a jump start on something new. I would appreciate some feedback/help: I'm** **curious as to what you guys would like to see next when it comes to my Miraculous** **stories.** **Know of any cool AUs I should look at? Do you guys want to see a story with one of my OCs? Any prompts** **/suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Feel free to PM me or leave your thoughts in a review. Thanks for your support!**


	8. By Moonlight and Stars

_The little red Kwami pressed closer to her motionless Chosen trying to bleed warmth into the body that was colder than ice….there was nothing to be done about this the easy thing would be to take the earrings out of Marinette's ears and go back so that Master Fu could choose another Ladybug….but Tikki had always had been protective of her Chosen Ones and to leave Marinette even now that the girl was dead didn't seem right….. there was something that Tikki was considering attempting and the only reason she hesitated at all with the idea was simply because she didn't know that consequences. To bring someone back from the death one would need a miracle; magic that she indeed possessed but miracles were meant to be performed others not on the Miraculous Holder themselves; Tikki had rarely performed a spell on her own much less on her Chosen but the longer she waited the less likely it was to work….. so she made up her mind, closed her eyes and whispered the spell….the red light started at Marinette's toes, traveling slowly up her body until it reached her chest, the moment the red light touched her heart and started pulsing with the rhythm of life her blue eyes snapped open and she let out a gasp, fingers clutching at her chest as if no time had passed at all and yet it felt like an eternity had passed.. like this was another life because in a way it was…_

Marinette's eyes snapped open and she could feel the rise and fall of her chest as her lungs struggled to resume a normal breathing pattern. The dream that was really a memory already fading from her mind as she looked up at the swath of dark sky and bright stars so far above her and yet seeming close enough to touch.

She sat up ignoring the protests from her stiff muscles as her lingering sense panic and confusion flared her blue eyes still fixated on the stars.

She shouldn't be able to see this many stars.

It made her feel small.

Alone.

She stood up and whirled around- not a single light was on in the entire city of Paris.

Everything was dark.

Dark and unnervingly silent.

To someone else the entire scene might have been peaceful but it only heightened Marinette's sense of confusion. She turned her eyes away from the darkened city, turning back to the light of the stars and the moon; one hand going to push the hair of her face. Her fingers instinctively brushing against her earrings for comfort while the other hand went to her hip where her yo-yo sat patiently waiting.

She flicked the yoyo open squirting her eyes against the light generated by the device until her eyes adjusted and she could see enough to hit the button to call Chat, she kept her eyes trained on the city below as she paced the rooftop her anxiety growing each moment she stared out into the black silence of the city.

"Chat, we've got a bit of a problem-" she paused intending to explain the blackout not entirely sure what type of solution to offer that might fix the problem.

Her footsteps halted along with her words, her hand moving just enough to cover the light emanating from her yo-yo before she went absolutely Deer-in-headlights still. Staring out into the darkness.

There it was again.

Faint and blurred.

Light.

Purple light.

The unmistakable violet glow of an akuma mask in the brief moments when Hawkmoth communicated with his victims.

Heading towards the looming shadow of Notre Dame.

Every sensible cell in her body and mind screamed _trap_ even as the sense of nearly blind rage flared inside of her gut. She cut off the call with Chat, banishing the little bit of light and let herself get swallowed by the darkness eyes locked on the purple light as it too flickered out and Paris; city of Lights went completely dark.

* * *

Adrien woke up reluctantly pulled away from the first pleasant dream he could remember when he felt tiny cat claws digging into his forehead.

"Ouch, Plagg."

He blinked, utterly shocked when he only received a deep growl in response to his complaint.

Plagg never growled, not like that and especially not at him. Plagg much rather preferred to express his displeasure verbally.

"You're still not going to talk to me are you?"

Silence.

Adrien sighed and reached up to detach the little kwami's claws from his forehead grateful that Plagg hadn't dug in hard enough to draw blood. Head injuries bled. A lot.

He gave Plagg a disapproving look and was actually surprised when the little black cat actually dained to respond with words- more growls then actual verbal communication but there were words in there nonetheless.

"How else was I supposed to wake you up? You were practically in a coma I should have known he would do something like that-"

"He? He who? What are you talking about?" Adrien asked, sitting up and blinking sleep out of his eyes trying to process his kwami's rambling.

"Noro- nevermind we've got bigger problems to deal with, the entire city is in a blackout."

Adrien kicked away his blankets and stood up crossing to the window and taking in the dark skyline and the billions of stars all the while a chill ran up and down his spine and instead of taking in the sight of so many stars all he could think was _:Wrong. Wrong Wrong._

Besides him Adrien sensed more than saw that Plagg was twitching, just as much if not more uneasy about the situation. There was clearly only one thing to do.

The flash of green light was brief yet a million times more blinding. Chat blinked trying to shake the white spots out of his eyes as he reached for his baton clicking it open and blinking once more, this time from the shock of seeing not one but two messages from Ladybug already waiting for him on the tiny screen.

He clicked the first one.

" _Hey Chat, I think we need to talk. Callmeseeyoulaterbye."_

For some reason the rushed goodbye made him smile, it was so weird to think that she was capable of panicking over something as simple as a phone call something so stereotypical that you would expect from a teenage girl. He thought it was endearing in a way. It made her seem more human.

Still smiling he clicked on the second and most recent message and felt the smile slipping as the panic started to set in.

" _Chat we've got a bit of a problem-"_

The message cut to static for a full five seconds before the connection was cut entirely.

Normal circumstances would have told him to laugh, to come back at her with sarcasm for stating the obvious. But he knew her too well….on the surface... to anyone else she might have sounded calm if a bit more concerned than usual. She sounded…. afraid something that put him on edge especially when the message cut off with no further explanation. No goodbye hurried or otherwise. Nothing but static to echo the sound of blood rushing in his ears.

All remnants of sleep disappeared and the next coherent emotion that broke through his was fear; fear that she was hurt in some way. Hurt and scared and alone his mind spit out a million different possibilities each one more horrible than the last all of his worst nightmares flashing before him in the short time it took him to pull up the tracking device feature.

He stared at it for a long moment before he jumped out of his bedroom window and ran across rooftops towards Notre Dame.

* * *

The sound of her footsteps pounded in her ears almost as loud as her heartbeat. Funny how somethings that were so quiet could suddenly turn deafening.

Marinette had never felt more useless as her alter-ego.

She had lost track of the akuma in the dark. She'd paced the perimeter of Notre Dame two times but without the tell-tell glow of purple light she couldn't pick out one shadow from another and the akuma didn't seem inclined to reveal itself.

About halfway through her third walk around the cathedral Marinette retraced her steps fully convinced that the akuma was no longer on the premises and there was no trap set up for her. Frustrated and enraged with her inability to see in the dark she sat on the steps of Notre Dame and pulled the earrings from her ears and stowed them away inside of her pink purse.

Now forcefully de-transformed she allowed herself to break under all of the pressure she finally let all of it get to her the full extent of her life since she woke up in the morgue without Tikki.

She sucked in a shaky breath and looked up fear twisting in her gut as she heard the sound of footsteps, echoing off stone and coming towards her. She stood up slowly backing her way up the steps to hide herself among the deeper shadows where the moonlight couldn't reach and held her breath as a single shadow halted abruptly at the bottom of the steps.

Uncertainty washed over her, turning what might have been a relieved cry of joy into a tentative question.

"Chat?"

The shadow at the foot of the steps twitched an ear and turned at the sound of its name.

Marinette stepped out of the shadows, trading darkness for the white light of the moon that washed over her like a spotlight as she slowly descended the steps.

This could all be a trick, part of whatever scheme Hawkmoth was so carefully putting into place. She'd seen him make an akuma copy of Chat Noir before. One that was accurate enough in appearance to confuse even her.

Chat didn't move towards her though- in a manner that could be considered threatening or otherwise.

She stopped her descent on the third step and stood there, the little bit of distance between them set in place so that she would have a few precious seconds to retreat if her paranoia proved to be true.

Neither of them moved.

* * *

Chat was almost certain that he'd imagined his name especially considering that the voice which called out to him was so familiar and yet he shouldn't have been hearing _her_ voice unless he was going insane…..or he was right and she wasn't dead at all. He almost didn't dare turn towards the soft sound of that voice, didn't turn around to be met with the possibility of seeing nothing there but empty air, but his hopes were up too high for the voice to be ignored and so his body turned almost against his own will.

And there she was at the top of the steps of Notre Dame framed by moonlight.

He didn't dare move.

He didn't dare breathe afraid even that small action would shatter whatever illusion had made her ghost appear before him.

She came down the steps towards him and stopped mere feet away from him and still he didn't rush to close the gap between them, didn't even dare to brush the tears he saw drying on her cheeks, didn't want to risk her turning back into nothing but mist and moonlight at his touch because surely that's what this was.

His guilt ridden brain had summoned her out of thin air in an attempt to put him at ease for his failure to protect her.

"It wasn't your fault Chat, none of it was your fault you tried to protect me." She spoke the words as if she had read his mind but his confusion was no doubt written clearly on his face.

"I'm alive Chat." she said the words in barely more than a whisper as if speaking them would cause her heart to stop again.

He blinked and still she didn't disappear and it was not him that reached for her but she who stepped closer and grabbed his hand and pressed it to her heart.

He recoiled from the shock of feeling her heartbeat inside of her chest actually pulling away from the feeling of it. She looked justifiably wounded by this action and all he could do for several long seconds was glance between her and his hand which was now shaking.

"H-how?" The single word made it past his throat and his voice shook just as badly as his hand.

"I don't- I don't know." She sounded so small, so lost and far more confused than he was which was saying something. She turned away from him and he instinctively reached out to grab her wrist, tightening his grip when he felt the thrum of her pulse. "Don't go."

She turned to look at him and he let go of her wrist stepping back a half step, when she didn't turn around again he sighed with relief and pulled her into a hug.

She tensed up and he was about to pull away before she relaxed against him, taking a shaky breath.

"It wasn't your fault." She repeated burying her face into his shoulder.

"It was entirely my fault." He whispered into her hair, his fingers combing through the knotted strands.

"No." She insisted, pulling away from his shoulder and looking at him. His hands moving from her hair to trail down her cheek. When moments ago he'd been afraid to touch her it now seemed all he was capable of doing in part to comfort her as to reassure himself that she was solid and breathing, a miracle in the flesh.

He lowered his head to press a light kiss to the pulse at her throat.

The gesture seeming stunned her into silence temporarily stopping her protests.

* * *

If Marinette had thought the hug had caught her off guard. The kiss was even more surprising but what came next was something she was absolutely not prepared for despite the fact that she had been contemplating putting herself in a similar situation just hours earlier.

She closed her eyes against the flash of emerald light and didn't dare open them again even when a hand pressed against her cheek. Oddly enough that was the most shocking thing about this ordeal. Not the hug, not the kiss, not even the fact that if she opened her eyes right now she would see him without the mask.

It was the feeling of skin in place of leather that seemed to unnerve her the most about this entire situation.

So she kept her eyes closed even as she spoke. "W-what are you doing?"

"I trust you." Came the soft and gentle reply right before she felt him kiss her again, this time on her lips and she kept her eyes closed and returned the kiss along with trust of her own. "Can you keep a secret?" She whispered against his mouth as her fingers went blindly to her purse and she brought her earrings up to her ears. "Of course." He purred.

Before she could hesitant she pushed the little jewels into her ears and saw the flash of red light behind her closed eyelids all of this happened in the span of seconds and through it all neither of them broke the kiss.

Both remained oblivious to the shadow that emerged from an alleyway across the street and watched them for a moment before disappearing.


	9. What Comes to Light in the Dark

If anyone had told the old Marinette Dupain-Cheng that she would kiss Adrien Agreste on the steps of Notre Dame she would have looked at them as if they had gone insane and promptly started to laugh hysterically. _'yeah right'_ she could hear her own voice echoing the statement.

If anyone had tried to convince her that Adrien Agreste and Chat Noir were the same person….well Alya had tried to convince her of that long ago and she could hear her response to that too something along the lines of ' _Are you out of your mind?'_ and while the old Marinette might have melted into a pile of goo once she realized that it was Adrien Agreste kissing her and not Chat Noir… That was past Marinette.

This Marinette panicked in an entirely different way. She opened her eyes after the end of the kiss and managed not to scream at the sight of Adrien mere inches from her face but as soon as she saw him she froze up as per usual, her brain clicking everything into place at hyperspeed. She blinked once and everything was in place, every little moment crashing down on her and it was like watching her old life flash before her eyes expect it was like watching an entirely different person live _her_ life.

Yes, Marinette panicked; but not in the way she herself would even suspect. There was no blushing or stuttering or an awkward and unnatural flailing of limbs. She pushed Adrien Agreste away from her.

That perhaps was the first concrete sign that some part of her had died and not come back. She had promised that she wouldn't involve two people even if the situation turned out to be as dire as she was now dreading it would become.

She would not involve Alya and she would not involve Adrien. Half of that promise now lay torn to pieces in front of her and she felt like the world's biggest fool for not realizing it sooner. Adrien Agreste was Chat Noir: A truth that had seemed so absurd and impossible to her up until this exact moment. She felt like a fool. The entire universe was playing her for a fool. It was bad enough to have Hawkmoth taunting her with this one akuma for weeks and now this... this... this was too much. She had promised herself to not involve Adrien for the sake of her crush on him. She didn't want him or Alya or any of her friends for that matter to be put at risk. Leverage for Hawkmoth to exploit if he were to ever find out that she was Ladybug because even with the fact that the akuma had shot her. She still thought that Hawkmoth didn't know Marinette and Ladybug were the same person.

She hadn't thought Adrien and Chat were the same person. Oh here came the stereotypical Marinette panic attack.

"No. No. No. nononono." She ignored the look of hurt confusion on Adrien's face as she turned her back to him; squeezing her eyes shut and trying to reverse the entirety of the last minute. Instinctively wrapping her arms around herself as ice settled in her veins.

She had felt useless before but now she felt vulnerable. He knew. There was no taking this back no matter how much she wanted to now.

He knew she was Ladybug and she still trusted him but now came another internal war between her own self. She trusted him to keep her secret safe but now she had to live with feeling guilty about involving him in whatever ridiculous scheme she thought would get them out of this mess. She felt the chill in her veins rapidly spreading to her heart.

She looked down at the pavement watching as emerald light threw back the shadows for an entire second before the world turned dark again; and still she didn't look at him. Feeling ashamed to do so and ashamed to not. She had always found it easier to talk around Chat both when she was in and out of the mask but now the speechlessness she so often found herself suffering around Adrien seemed to have spread to Chat as well.

Any other circumstance and she would have laughed at herself. Now though her speechlessness wasn't born of some childish crush...it was born of fear... something stronger than fear; an almost primal terror. She knew she was being hunted and now Adrien was at risk as well.

She didn't know why she felt any different knowing that Adrien and Chat were the same person.

In a perfect reality she wouldn't feel different; but she did….Chat had always taken hits for her, had always protected her and while it had made her panic part of her had always viewed him as indestructible and she had always managed to fix things in the end.

What if she couldn't fix things this time? What if something happened to him and she couldn't pull him back from the metaphorical cliff edge?

She wasn't going to be responsible for hurting him further.

She felt the weight of his head come to rest on her shoulder and she slumped against him, her thoughts weighing on her far more than she had suspected. She had always wanted to believe that once she told Chat who she was it would be a weight off of her shoulders. She had been wrong about so much.

It was him. Adrien was Chat Noir. She was going to wake up, this was going to be a vivid dream. She had to walk up. She was going to pinch herself and none of this was going to be real.

He seemed to be having the same internal struggle of convincing himself that she was real. She felt him twisting his fingers through the knots in her hair and she didn't know if it would be more appropriate to the situation if she cried or laughed because she no doubt looked horrible and she squirmed self-consciously.

He stopped running his fingers through her hair and simply buried his nose deeper into her shoulder. Muttering something incoherent.

So she coaxed out words from her own vocal cords to fill the almost deafening silence.

"I'm sorry."

The inadequate apology made him stiffen against her and she sensed that he was going to jump to defend and say that she shouldn't be the one apologizing so she rushed to intercept. The words rushing out of her like water out of a broken dam.

"About letting you think I was dead, about not telling you the truth I should have trusted you to keep my secret from day one but I was scared that something would happen to one of us that someone was going to get hurt, I- I'm sorry it's you-"

"Sorry it's me?"

She spun around to face him realizing her poor choice of words when she caught sight of his expression, the fake cat ears flattening against his head in the ultimate picture of dejection.

"You're disappointed I'm Chat Noir?"

"No! I'm... I'm glad it's you but... I'm sorry that you have to be mixed up in this mess it's far more serious than I thought, Hakwmoth is becoming desperate, he's taking risks and that puts us on the line. He's desperate enough to _kill_! And... I'm scared Chat- I'm terrified!"

"I won't let anything happen to you I promise."

"I know you won't, but I have to make the same promise to you, I told myself that I wouldn't get Adrien involved in this-"

"Thanks, I'm already involved."

"Chat- Adrien! This isn't a joke! This isn't a game anymore! It never was!"

His eyes took on a darkness that sent a chill up her spine.

"You think I don't _know_ that? I watched you _die_ Mari!"

She flinched at his words, at her own insensitivity to his side of things and just like that a new coat of guilt settled over her, sticking to her skin like she'd walked into cobwebs.

"I didn't mean... I meant that I don't want that to happen to you."

"Better me than you."

She went stiff her exhaled breath turning into a gasp as if someone had dumped the equivalent of the Arctic ocean on her head. Drowning and numb from the frigid cold, the outright bitterness in his words.

"Don't say things like that Chat!... Adrien- why would you ever consider something like that? No one deserves to die."

"Hawkmoth does."

Ladybug opened her mouth to object but she snapped it shut and bit her lip instead, stunned that Chat had voiced her worst vengeful thought. She took a step toward him the world so quiet that she heard the sound of her suit scraping against the pavement under her feet.

She reached out to him only to recoil when he snarled. Taken aback by the purely animalistic sound she retreated from the sight of his green eyes narrowed to slits, his cat ears pressed against his head.

"Chat?"

His eyes focused on her, the gaze still unnerving in its intensity. Predatory, another shiver raced down her spine and she spun back around to face the dark shadows of the alleyway across the street; suddenly overwhelmed with the sense of being watched.

"We need to get out of here." Chat hissed into her ear, eyes scanning the shadows as if they were going to attack.

"What's wrong? Who's there?"

"... akuma."

The ice inside of her veins melted, erupting into adrenaline that made her blood and her anger simmer. Her hand shot to her hip, unclipping her yo-yo from her belt in the same moment that she stalked forward, spinning her weapon until the string produced a high-pitched buzzing hum akin to the sound of an agitated insect.

A weight settled on her shoulder causing her to jump and her yo-yo jerked to a stop the hum dying as it swung back and forth next to her hip, almost touching the ground before it finally stopped. "Don't." Chat warned her. "But I-" She began to protest but realized that it was useless, he wasn't paying attention to her, his eyes were fixed on the shadows on the other side of the street, his cat ears still pinned back against his head. Every muscle in his body tensed, the hand on her shoulder tightened even further into a death grip. She might have flinched if she hadn't been so distracted by the thought of her enemy so close to her and yet just out of reach.

Her blue eyes flickered from the alleyway, to Chat's face down to his leather covered hand on her shoulder. Her eyes narrowed on the restraint. "Let go of me."

His grip tightened even further, squeezing as if he were trying to compress her shoulder, fold her up and hide her away, make her collapse into nothing but air and vanish into nothing but air.

She hissed the next words through clenched teeth. "Let me go, Chat."

It took an effort not to call him Adrien but she was tempted to do just that risks be damned because he seemed to have gone deaf to the name of his alter-ego.

"No."

"Chat," she took a step closer, invading the bit of space that was still between them, her eyes moving from his hand to his face were they hardened into ice. "Let. Me. Go." She forced each word out slowly, trying not to scream at him and his stubbornness, the adrenaline inside her veins humming and lending steel to her voice; turning a plea into a demand.

He released his death grip on her shoulder and she bolted; too focused on her goal to be grateful that he'd listened or to care that she didn't thank him.

She made it halfway across the street, the dark shadows of the alleyway coming into focus of simple darkened outlines. She heard Chat's footsteps just behind her matching her stride for stride but hanging back. She thought nothing of it. It was a pattern they often fell into.

The thought of betrayal didn't even cross her mind. One moment her feet were on solid ground the next she was in the air, her startled scream drowned out by the rush of the wind in her ears. Then a temporary feeling of weightlessness before she felt herself falling backwards. Something solid replaced the air underneath her feet and it took her a moment to gather her senses again; she was sitting on the roof of Notre Dame; her back pressed against a gargoyle

She glared at Chat, who crouched in front of her, meeting her hostile stare with one of his own, his hand clenched into a fist around his silver baton which had just finished shrinking with a barely audible click. His other hand clenching and unclenching, claws flexing as he released pent up frustration.

"What were you _doing_?" He snarled, struggling to keep his voice below a whisper.

"I was going to-" she stopped suddenly unsure what exactly she had planned to do once she had reached the alleyway. "Get yourself shot again." Chat finished for her.

"You let me go." She insisted.

"I thought you would have had enough sense not to go rushing towards the man who killed you! Have you gone insane Marinette?"

She said nothing and just watched him...what _could_ she have said that would justify her irrational level of stupidity? _Had_ she gone insane?

Slowly, muscle by muscle Marinette watched the tension bleed out of Chat's body, he sighed and stood up, offering his hand to help her to her feet.

"Let's get you out of here."

She hesitated but took his hand and allowed him to pull her to her feet, shooting a longing glance at the street below before she lifted her eyes to the darkened skyline.

"Where?"

"Home. To your parents."

She whirled to face him head on, her feet digging into the roof tiles as longing flooded through her, open and raw like a newly bleeding wound she had convinced herself had healed.

"No!"

"Mari-" Chat's hand was on her shoulder again but this time she shook him off and retreated to the edge of the roof, the wind pushing at her back as solid as any wall.

"No." She stressed again, fully prepared to jump off of the roof to the pavement below and run away from this confrontation like the true coward she was.

"I can't go back to my parents, Chat it's not safe for them. It's not safe I can't- I'm supposed to be dead... I don't want to risk my parents safety. I won't _hide_ behind them."

"They're your parents, they'll protect you!"

"They think I'm _dead._ They don't know I'm Ladybug they _can't_ know I'm Ladybug, Hawkmoth got lucky last time, he doesn't know I'm Ladybug...if- if he found out that I'm Ladybug... that Marinette is alive.. what would he do?"

"... What if Hawkmoth already knows?"

The primal horror returned, knocking the air from her lungs and she spun around, head jerking to the side as if Chat had slapped her with a physical blow. Everything rushed back to her with a horrible clarity... she had transformed- _they_ had transformed in clear view of the public. Darkness and seeming empty streets aside...they had only become aware of the possibility of an akuma's presence _after_ they had stopped kissing.

Ladybug snapped her gaze down to the maze of darkened streets below, retreating from the roof's edge so fast that she nearly stumbled and she only fully stopped her backwards shuffle when she felt her shoulders press against Chat.

"Do- H-how much do you think it saw?" Her voice came out in a panicked rasp and when he didn't respond right away her voice shot up about twelve octaves.

"A-Adrien!"

"Shh," The voice that reached her ears was a soft whisper but the fingers that brushed along her cheek were trembling just as much as her voice.

Her throat closed up, an illusion of fingertips closing around her neck, Cutting off her air. Her panic became an almost physical thing intent on strangling her. Silent tears slipped down her cheeks and she felt Chat's fingers pressing into her skin, brushing them away.

"Shh, I don't know how much they saw. We need to get out of here, I'll take you somewhere safe I promise."

She pressed closer to him in silent agreement and they disappeared into the darkness.


	10. What You Don't Know

The mass of white butterflies fluttered up from the floor, wings fluttering in distress as they fled to avoid the pacing footsteps of the enraged man below.

Gabriel paced back and forth, hands behind his back as he moved his hard blue eyes from the akuma standing in silence- to Nooroo- whom was watching from above in the semblance of safety.

"This is...unprecedented I suspected as much but... I wonder." Gabriel trailed off in his train of thought and rubbed his chin in contemplation.

Nooroo's wings twitched nervously. "You're certain of what you saw?" Me Agreste snapped, rounding on the akuma who jumped, startled by Gabriel's tone.

"Yes sir, the girl is alive."

Above the two men, Nooroo loosed a sigh of relief, wings drooping; only to go ridgid once more as his master spoke again; more to himself then the akuma.

"Ladybug is one step ahead of us again it would seem," Gabriel rubbed a hand along the side of his face in a manner reserved for the truly exhausted and Nooroo felt an unexpected stab of sympathy for the man accompanied by an undercurrent of hope. Surely now he would see sense. That his greatest wish was unobtainable, the Ladybug would be even more on edge now, even more wary and while Nooroo still sensed an uncharacteristic amount of vengeance from the hiding insect heroine... Surely she would think very carefully about how she next approached her foe. If and when the time came for her to confront Hawkmoth.

She was with Chat Noir this very moment in fact. Nooroo could sense Plagg's general location. Adrien would surely make her see sense.

Nooroo sensed no small amount of apprehension from Plagg but he thought nothing of it. Cats were very cautious and despite the fact that the Black Cat was one of the best Miraculous when it came to combat they tended to be more defensive in their approach to conflict…

The realization dawned on Nooroo.

If Ladybug was with Chat Noir.

And Chat Noir was Adrien.

That meant they were coming _here._

Adrien would take Ladybug here, fleeing from one danger and towards another. Simply because Adrien didn't suspect his father to be the one to cause this entire mess.

Nervousness began to take a nosedive into full-fledged panic but Nooroo forced himself to remain as still as possible as Gabriel turned his ice-blue eyes from the akuma to him.

"You knew of this?" Gabriel guessed, pointing an accusing finger at him.

Nooroo forced his rapidly beating wings to slow themselves. He had to approach this very carefully. Consider his next words with extreme precision, Gabriel was already far too close to the truth then Nooroo had ever hoped he'd be.

"I knew she was alive, yes." The little butterfly replied.

"And you did not tell me!?" Gabriel fumed, pacing footsteps rapidly increasing their speed. The mass of white butterflies shot up into the air, their wings fluttering in panicked agitation as they fled to escape their master's wrath.

"I withheld it from you, yes."

Gabriel froze. Eyes glaring; the akumatized man in the room forgotten by the both of them as they stared; a silent battle of wills.

"Why?" Gabriel hissed, voice going from barely restrained rage to controlled calm in a single syllable that made Nooroo shiver but the little Kwami refused to back down. Refused to admit the whole honest truth.

"She wants revenge on you."

Despite Nooroo's sinister tone Gabriel openly scoffed.

"She's is a child! She cannot hurt me."

"You of all people should understand what the desire for revenge can do to someone, she is far more powerful than you realize and yet you mock her, you made her suffer and you _mock_ her?"

Taken aback by the Kwami's unexpected confrontation Gabriel sputtered indignantly. Nooroo had hit a nerve and he knew it.

"I will do _whatever_ it takes to obtain the Miraculouses of Ladybug and Chat Noir." Gabriel hissed through gritted teeth.

"No." Came Nooroo's calm and measured reply. The little butterfly god darted down from the ceiling. Nose to nose with Gabriel as he stared.

"No?" Gabriel's tone took on a new darkness, a new determination, but Nooroo refused to cave in to intimation this time.

"Don't you see?" Nooroo prompted, let Gabriel think he was begging...he would admit that he was. He felt no shame in this; whatever he had to do to make this man see sense.

"This _has_ to stop!" Nooroo squeaked. "Look at what you have done, what you are still determined to do, you have gone absolutely mad and I will not stand for it any longer. I warned you that no Miraculous was supposed to be used with evil intent. There are consequences, this is yours. Do you not see that it has twisted you?"

"Do _you_ not see that it's worth it?" Gabriel countered, eyes gleaming.

"Ladybug has resurrected that girl- Marinette Dupain-Cheng- from the dead."

"She is not the same." Nooroo cautioned. "Your actions have caused her to go against her very nature. She is missing a part of herself that she fears will never be restored until you are dead."

"That is where she is not like me. I have nothing to lose, I am trying to regain what was lost long ago."

"Marinette is not the same," Nooroo insisted. "What makes you think Ariel will be the same?"

"She will be!" Gabriel hissed.

"Possible yes." Nooroo admitted. "She may very well be the same as you remember her. You may yet accomplish your heart's desire. She will come back to you, the same as she was before. _You_ however will not be the same, no matter if you claim otherwise. You will have to live with the guilt of your actions for the rest of your life."

"I don't see why you're making a case for this girl, I was going to bring her back from the dead once I obtained the Miraculouses. She came back anyway. This has Ladybug's power written all over it!"

Nooroo sighed, wings drooping in exhaustion. "I have tried to make you see reason, you will not. You are blind you do not see the enemy you have made."

"What are you not telling me." Gabriel hissed, reaching out and grabbing Nooroo in his clenched fist.

Nooroo let out an exasperated sigh and changed his tatic. "I told you that you needed both the Ladybug and Chat Miraculous for absolute power."

"Yes we've been over that part of it before." Gabriel dismissed impatiently.

"I never explained _why."_

Gabriel's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Why?"

"You wish to raise someone from the dead."

"And Ladybug's Miraculous is capable of doing that." Gabriel agreed.

"Yes, Marinette was raised from the dead but Ladybug didn't possess the Black Cat's ring when she spoke the spell that brought Marinette back to the world of the living."

"You're stalling. Why would she need both if she can raise people from the dead with just one?"

"Trauma; bringing something back from the dead, is not an act of creation. Ladybug did not make Marinette's soul a new body….nor is it an act of destruction.. she did not have to destroy what was already broken...it is an act that is somewhere in between and therefore requires balance to be done properly. The power of creation to put the soul back in the body. The power of destruction to erase the traumatic memory of dying from the mind."

Nooroo was met with contemplative silence from Gabriel.

"Body and mind are not the same." Nooroo finished. "She wants peace of mind, and she believes that the only way she can obtain that is by stopping you."

Gabriel's eyes flashed and he opened his mouth to retort but Nooroo spoke over him, feeling empowered by his own defiance. He remembered for a moment a flash of panic, knowing that both Adrien and Marinette were on their way to the mansion as they spoke.

Both Miraculouses were about to be under Gabriel's nose and there was a chance that he would find out about it.

Nooroo was very much aware that Gabriel suspected his own son of being Chat Noir- A suspicion that had come about after Gabriel had gotten a close look at the Black Cat's ring after being rescued from an akuma and then seen Adrien wearing a similar ring minutes later- A suspicion that was unfortunately correct...A suspicion Nooroo realized he could gamble on.

Gabriel Agreste was not a fool. He was intelligent but possessed a strong sense of denial.

Nooroo tilted his head to the side and considered his captor.

"You claim that children can't hurt you?" The Kwami mused. "Does that claim stand where your son is concerned?"

"You will not bring him into this!" Gabriel snarled.

Nooroo simply gave a pitying look to his master.

* * *

Adrien pulled Marinette through his open window, having just scaled down the roof. Once both of them were safety inside he shut the window and whirled on Marinette with a glare, folding his arms across his chest as he shot her a glare he knew she couldn't see in the dark.

"You know it would have been so much easier if you let me use my yoyo to get in through the window... not that climbing down the side of the building was particularly difficult I'm just saying."

Adrien glared at her harder. Perfectly capable of seeing seeing her expression just fine thanks to Chat Noir's night vision.

She looked as equally frustrated as he felt.

"What?" She snapped. Unknowingly mirroring his pose when she folded her arms across her chest and stared daggers at him.

He didn't know if he wanted to laugh at the fact that they were both being so stubborn or scream.

"What? What do you mean what? What was _that?_ Back there with the akuma?"

"What did you expect me to do? _We're_ supposed to fight those things aren't we?"

"Well yes but I expect _you_ of all people to come up with a better plan than just marching right up to it. What happened to you being the one who thinks plans through?"

"I _was_ thinking!" Marinette insisted.

The two of them would have probably gotten into a full fledged argument but the lights started to flicker ominously above their heads and the two teens jumped as there was a sudden _crash_ from downstairs.

Marinette jumped at the sudden noise and turned to face Adrien's door, looking torn between going to investigate or staying where she was. She turned to Adrien.

"Adrien?"

Chat Noir tossed Ladybug her yoyo, There was a flash of green light as Adrien released his transformation.

"Stay here I'll see what it was."

There was another _crash_ from downstairs followed by a muffled string of curses in the same moment that the lights came back on.

Both Adrien and Marinette squinted against the sudden assault of bright lighting after so long in the dark.

At least the blackout was over. One less problem for them to deal with. Adrien rushed for the door and down the hallway, heading for the stairs; expecting to find his father stumbling around his office as his eyes adjusted to the lights being back on.

Adrien stopped short at the sight of his father; half guiding half dragging another man across the room. The pair of them tripping over furniture as Gabriel attempted to support the other man's significantly bulkier weight.

The lights inside the office flickered and Adrien blinked instinctively. He must have been seeing things.

His father seemed to busy to acknowledge him- not that that was anything odd- Adrien cleared his throat.

"Who's that?" He asked

His dad jumped and jerked his head up to look Adrien in the eye before turning his attention back to the man who seemed seconds away from passing out.

"No one you need to worry about."

Cue worrying.

"Is he okay?"

"He'll be fine."

"Is he hurt?"

"No."

Adrien had not seen very many intoxicated people in his life but he knew they often had trouble walking.

"Is he drunk?"

"Of course not! You know I never allow alcohol in my household on any occasion and at a meeting with a client no less, that is highly unprofessional."

Adrien blinked and really wished that lights would stop flickering. It was starting to give him a headache.

"... okay... well do you want help…" Adrien trailed off, taking an almost involuntary step backwards.

"No! Stay where you are!"

His father's objection was so sudden and so harsh that Adrien stepped back instinctively.

A heavy silence fell, broken only by the buzz of the flickering light bulbs.

"I believe it's best if I do this alone, thank you." Adrien raised an eyebrow and shrugged one shoulder; backing out of the room while still facing the same and his father.

Until he reached the staircase and took the stairs three at a time. Rushing back to his room and odd sense of fear looming in his mind as more lights flickered on and off downstairs.


End file.
